A/N: Second chapter! WARNING: This chapter is OUTRAGEOUSLY long! So if you think you have enough patience to read the whole thing, then I will be ever so pleased that I have readers who are willing to read this whole chapter! (UPDATE: Guys, I forgot to mention: The time in this fanfic is when the DP series is going to be over soon. So Satoshi, Takeshi, and Hikari will have to part after this chapter! T^T)

[Edit (12/09/14): So the only comment I have to say about my writing back then is this: my writing was so weeaboo that it hurts my eyes to read. Let me know if there are things like… "ne" or Japanese Pokemon names. I WILL change it.]

Note: aniki/big brother (Basically, that's Reiji/Reggie)

Mystique
CH 2: The Last Day Together

"Takeshi!" Hikari called out.

"Hikari, did you get enough water?"

"Yeah, but I got some company…" She pointed to Shinx and Torterra walking behind Piplup. "They're all Shinji's Pokémon, but it looks like they're roaming around the area without him."

Takeshi looked worried. "Should we look for him?"

"That's what I suggested, but they won't let me search for him. They just said that Shinji let them wander around on their own… or at least that's what I think they said."

The eldest male thought for a moment. There was no way Shinji would release Torterra, although, Shinx was one option. But the releasing was out of the question. He didn't think Shinji would let his Pokémon wander around with his backpack, unless he got hurt. But the two Pokémon didn't seem worried enough. Maybe they got lost? It was possible, but Hikari said that they won't let her look for him.

"Well, I can't think of any other reason for them to be alone…"

"Me neither. Moreover, I'm getting worried. What if something did happen to Shinji?" Hikari stared beyond the forest, worried.

Takeshi crossed his arms. "Well, anyways, let's try to make them feel at home. Why don't you and your friends join us too, Shinx and Torterra?" Shinx had jerked his head to the side, but Torterra nodded. "I wonder where Satoshi is."

"Who knows…?" Hikari shook her head, crossing her arms. "He's probably getting more firewood than we need." She walked over to Shinx, squatting in front of it. "Hmmm… I've never seen you with Shinji before." She smiled. "Maybe he just caught you. Am I right?" Shinx ignored her. "Hmph… Typical of you to ignore me…" Hikari walked away, leaving Piplup, Torterra, and Shinx alone.

"Will you stop that?!" Piplup exclaimed.

"Stop what?" Shinji murmured.

Torterra sighed. "Here we go again…" His remark earned him stares from Piplup and Shinji.

"Stop ignoring Hikari-chan! It's not going to help you any further if you keep treating us like that!" Piplup started waving his flippers around frantically. "You know, at this rate, you might end up alone without any companions to keep you company!" He panted, trying to calm himself down. "Hey, at least eat with us with all your other Pokémon. Sure, it might be out-of-character, but it's better that way."

"How can it be better that way?" Shinji asked. There was no way he was going to eat Pokémon Food or with the others' Pokémon. "Besides, I already had breakfast."

But his stomach said otherwise with a large growl.

Piplup raised a brow in amusement. "Uh-huh… Right… You didn't really have breakfast, did you?" Laughter escaped his beak.

"You must be hungry, Shinx. I prepared some Pokémon Food for your friends too, so why don't you let your friends out?"

"That's a good idea, Shinji. Let's get them out right now and explain what happened to you."

"Fine." Shinji shook his bag off again, and unzipped it with his teeth. Ugh, this is so irritating! I have no use of my hands, which has turned into paws, he thought. He dug his head around for his PokéBalls. Unfortunately, he couldn't get them out. "Ugh, this is hopeless!"

"Here, I'll help." Hikari suddenly came out of nowhere, picking up his bag. "Let's see… Ah, got them!" She took out four PokéBalls. She threw them in the air, and four Pokémon came out. Weavile, Ursaring, Honchkrow, and Eleboo came out. "Hey guys, it looks like you're gonna travel with us for a while… I guess Torterra and Shinx can explain to you. Oh, and it's almost time for breakfast, so hurry up!"

The four Pokémon eyed her, but turned to Torterra and… Shinx?

"So… Why is there a Shinx with you, Torterra?"

"Yeah, we never saw Shinji catch one before…"

"Look guys," Torterra called. "Trust me on this, because I've witnessed it. Even ask Piplup over there." He gestured to Piplup who was helping Hikari set down the bowls. "This Shinx over here is actually Shinji. He startled a Xatu and… in its defense, it turned him into a Pokémon…" He looked at his companions' faces. "Yes, I know it seems impossible, but it's true!"

Weavile and Electivire were left staring, while Honchkrow and Ursaring smacked themselves with their wing/paw. Suddenly, Weavile and Electivire broke out in laughter. Honchkrow and Ursaring were staring at them disapprovingly. All this would only provoke Shinji and make him lash out at them.

"What's so funny…?" Shinji asked, his tone picking up in a murderous way. "Torterra's telling the truth…"

The two Pokémon stopped laughing.

"S-Sorry, Shinji. We just couldn't believe it, you know…?" Electivire stammered.

"Ah, whatever! I'm still very irritated that I'm stuck in this damned body!" Shinji exclaimed. "Anyways, now that you got the truth, we have no choice but to travel with… them."

The four Pokémon exchanged skeptical looks, but since Shinji never lied, they believed him.

"Alright… So we're going to be traveling with them until you're back to normal, right?" Electivire asked. Shinji gave a nod. "Sure, I guess I could deal with that…" Everyone else agreed with Electivire.

Torterra sigh in relief. "Thanks for understanding, guys. And sorry that we had to put you up with this…"

"Tch…" Weavile murmured. "Whatever."

"Hey guys! I'm back!" Satoshi came back, his arms full of firewood. His Pokémon were also bringing an armful of firewood. As soon as he arrived, he took note of the new Pokémon. "Who are they?" After he scanned the six Pokémon, something hit him. "Aren't they Shinji's Pokémon?!"

"Yeah, but they're without him. Have you seen him while you were walking around?"

"Actually, no. We went around this whole forest to look for the firewood, but we couldn't find Shinji anywhere," Satoshi replied. "Come to think of it, I didn't see anything or anyone that might've looked like Shinji or his Pokémon."

Hikari sighed. "I see…"

"Well, here's the firewood." Satoshi and his Pokémon piled up the firewood in front of Takeshi.

"Sa-Satoshi, don't you think you got too much?" A drop of sweat rolled down his cheek. "I mean, I don't need this much to start a fire."

Satoshi laughed. "Sorry, Takeshi! But we kinda got carried away!" He noticed a Shinx among Shinji's Pokémon. "Whoa, did Shinji catch a Shinx? No way!" He walked over to the Pokémon and squatted in front of it. "Hey, Shinx! My name's Satoshi and this is my partner, Pikachu!"

Pikachu hopped on his shoulder, waving his paw in the air. "Hi, Shinx! It's nice to meet you!"

"We've met before, and I never want to hear that phrase again. Well, 'pathetic' isn't really the correct way to address you, of course."

Pikachu blinked in surprise. "Uh… Sorry, but who were you talking to?"

"I'm talking to you and Satoshi."

"Satoshi is not pathetic!" he defended. "Did Shinji tell you that?"

"Tsk, I am Shinji!" he blurted out.

The statement immediately piqued Pikachu's interest. "Whoa, did you just say you're Shinji?"

"Pikachu, I'll explain everything to you, but can you keep it a secret?" Torterra requested. "It's something that he doesn't want a lot of Pokémon to know…"

"Um… Sure?" Pikachu jumped off Satoshi's shoulder and skipped to the large Pokémon.

"What's wrong, Pikachu?"

"Pika… Pikachu!" Pikachu reassured that he'll be fine, so Satoshi can go help Hikari.

Satoshi was too dense to even look deeper within his partner's words, so he left.

"So what's the story?" he asked.

Torterra looked at Shinji for approval, but he didn't seem to care. "Well, we were walking in the forest, and Shinji startled a Xatu. Because of that, the Xatu transformed him into a Pokémon out of fright. That's pretty much the basic story."

Pikachu scratched the back of his head with his tail. "Well… I got the story, but what can I do?"

"What you could do is to get any of those three away from me!"

"Ugh!" Pikachu exclaimed. Despite his anger, he had to come up with a plan. He turned to Torterra. "Well, all I could do is prevent any suspicions, but I'm gonna need Shinji to help. He's the only one who can create the results here!"

"Thanks, Pikachu. I really appreciate your help."

"It's no problem, Torterra! So… why don't you guys go eat breakfast first? I'll talk to Shinji for just a minute; it won't take long." Pikachu approached Shinji, observing him. "Well, Shinji, all I want you to do is keep a low profile. Can you try to lessen your attitude? It's pretty much like the only thing that gives away a big clue that you could be Shinji. If you keep acting so arrogant like that, I'm definite that suspicions will arise."

Shinji didn't want to admit, but Pikachu was right. At first, he thought Pikachu was just a Pokémon who was just like his trainer: Dense and having lack of common sense. Pikachu guided him to the large group of Pokémon who were eating "Hn, you seem to be smarter than him at least…" he murmured.

"What did you say?"

"Hn." He shook his head smugly, following Pikachu. "Oi, I've got one question to ask you."

"If it has anything negative about Satoshi, Hikari-chan, or Takeshi-san, then don't even think of asking."

"It's not that," Shinji snapped. "I'm asking about Infernape."

"If he finds out, he'll probably be alarmed or surprised at first," Pikachu replied. "But I don't think he'll tell anyone. He's a really good Pokémon, and he probably wouldn't mind having you around as a Shinx." His voice was gentle at first, but it turned to amusement at the last phrase.

Shinji rolled his eyes. His stomach lowly growled. Not again…

"Oh? You're hungry?"Amusement, once again, graced Pikachu's voice. "You have to admit… That is so not you."

"Hmph." They arrived to the group, and everyone greeted him warmly. He was not a fan of family-like warmth, so he shuddered. Pikachu wheeled around, smiling. "What are you smiling about?"

"I want to see whose Pokémon you'd want to eat with. Do you want to eat with Satoshi's, Hikari's, or Takeshi's Pokémon?" Pikachu's smile suddenly turned smug. "Which will it be?"

"Who did my Pokémon choose?"

"Well, it's mixed. Some went to Satoshi, some went to Hikari, and some went to Takeshi." He was about to speak some more until his stomach growled loudly. "Oops… Well, I'm gonna go eat my breakfast. Hurry and choose or you might not get breakfast at all." With that, he left to join his friends.

Shinji was left, staring in disbelief. There was enough trouble for him, but he was now to eat with other Pokémon? Moreover, he had to eat Pokémon Food?! There is no way I'm going to eat Pokémon Food! He thought. Just when he thought his stomach would growl again, a bowl of Pokémon Food was set before him. He looked up to see Takeshi, smiling at him.

"You should eat, Shinx. You must be starving."

Shinji stared at the food awkwardly. Strangely, it smelled pleasant enough to eat. The realization of his thoughts snapped him back to reality. "Ugh… Why do I have to eat Pokémon Food?" Grimacing, he took a small bite, wondering if it will taste really bad. But it was the complete opposite! It was so strange! It tasted normal – like human food – despite its dull brown color and the tedious shapes. His stomach begged for more. Unfortunately, he didn't want to die of hunger, so he kept eating… hesitantly. It was as if he was afraid the food will kill him when he becomes normal again.

"Enjoying the food, Shinx?"

Shinji looked up, realizing it was Infernape who had greeted him. "Oh… It's you…"

"Huh?" Infernape shrugged it off. "So you're Shinji's Pokémon, huh? Is he doing well?"

This conversation was making Shinji feel awkward. Chimchar was his original Pokémon after all, but Shinji had released him. Now Chimchar had evolved all the way to Infernape.

"Who knows?" he replied. Shinji took one last bite and walked away.

Infernape sighed. "You… act like Shinji, too…" When Shinji turned his head around, Infernape put on a smile. "Well, that's great! That shows how fond you are of Shinji!" Realization dawned on his mind. "Oh yeah! I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Infernape, Satoshi's Pokémon."

"I get it," Shinji murmured. Then he continued on his way to… wherever. He decided to go under the shade of the table the three people were eating on. It was rather cool under there. He sat down, but it didn't feel comfortable, so he lied down. Great, now I can't bear the heat of the sun, he thought, annoyed. How long do I have to put up with this?

"Ah! Hey, Shinx!"

Shinji looked up, and found himself near Hikari. Oh joy… He ignored her and rested his head on his arms. The ground felt very cool against his… stomach.

"So what's going to be the temperature for today?"

Takeshi shrugged. "Well, I guess it's going to be really hot today. It might be 90 degrees or over." He wiped his forehead, where a thin layer of sweat was covering it. "Hopefully, we'll be able to find a lake or so."

"Well, how about we do some battling, Hikari? That is… Before we part ways…" Satoshi suggested. "And of course, before the weather gets any worse than this." He chuckled nervously.

"Sure! Why not?" Hikari looked down at the small Pokémon curled near her feet. "Hey, Shinx, do you want to be in a battle with me?"

"Not in your life, Troublesome…" Shinji murmured, shaking his head.

"Well, okay then. But remember, just because Shinji isn't here doesn't mean you can't train."

"I'm a human, not a Pokémon, idiot!" Shinji sneered. But of course, in Hikari's eyes, he'd only be yelling at her with 'Shinx's.

Hikari giggled nervously. Wow, Shinji's Shinx sure has a short temper… She leaned on her chair, complimenting Takeshi's cooking. "So, Satoshi, about that battle… Do you want to make it a 3-on-3 battle or something?"

"Hmmm… How about a Double Battle?"

"Sure!"

"I'll be the referee," Takeshi volunteered. Of course, he was always the referee. He took the plates and asked Floatzel to come with him. "Oh yeah, you can leave the table alone. The umbrella should provide shade for the other Pokémon."

"Okay!" Hikari and Satoshi gathered their Pokémon and chose the two perfect Pokémon. Hikari chose Mamoswine and Piplup. Satoshi decided to go with Infernape and Torterra.

"Interested, Shinji?" Pikachu's voice came from beside him. Shinji turned his head to him, but stayed silent. He simply shrugged. Pikachu groaned, his shoulder slumping. But he composed himself and his determined smile came back. "It's not much, but those two should have a battle before everyone else parts ways."

So all of you aren't going to be traveling together after all, Shinji thought.

"Ready, Hikari?"

"I'm ready!"

Takeshi raised his right hand. "Alright! This is going to be a Double Battle! Let the battle begin!" He put down his arm, signaling the start of the battle.

Hikari made her first move. "Piplup, use Bubblebeam! Mamoswine, use Ice Shard on the bubbles!" As Piplup used his Bubblebeam, Mamoswine shot his Ice Shard at the bubbles. They turned into large balls of ice and were aiming at Infernape and Torterra.

"Infernape, use Flamethrower to melt the ice! Torterra, use Razor Leaf at Piplup and Mamoswine!" As the two Pokémon did so, although Torterra got hit, the leaves aimed at Piplup and Mamoswine. Piplup, having a small body, managed to evade it in time, but Mamoswine stayed still and took the hit. It didn't do much damage at all.

"Then… Mamoswine, use Hidden Power and aim at Torterra! Piplup, use Whirlpool at Infernape!" Suddenly, there were orbs of light surrounding Mamoswine, and Piplup whipped up a Whirlpool from his beak. They all aimed at their destined opponent.

Satoshi smiled. "Infernape, spin while using Flamethrower! Torterra, you know what to do with Energy Ball! Then, use Leaf Storm!" A large stream of flames burst from Infernape's mouth, and he started spinning on the ground. A ball of blue-and-green energy formed from Torterra's mouth, but instead of shooting it, he swallowed it. Suddenly, the trees on his back flared up with green energy. Then, he used Leaf Storm to pierce the orbs of Hidden Power. Some of the leaves had managed to swift past the orbs and aimed for Mamoswine.

Mamoswine, being unable to dodge easily, took the hit and it slightly hurt him.

Meanwhile, Infernape's fire counter-shield was strong enough to turn the large whirlpool into steam!

Hikari smirked. "Not bad, Satoshi! Infernape's counter-shield was awesome!"

"Thanks, Hikari! But your attacks aren't bad either!"

"Thanks!"

As the battle went on until everyone was exhausted, the other Pokémon sat under the shade watching the battle. Shinji soon found himself surrounded by Pachirisu, Buneary, Pikachu, and Gureggru. "Oh great, I got company…" he murmured. He tried to find his Pokémon, but they were somehow interested in the battle taking place ahead. "Tch, they're so pathetic…"

"Come on, Shinji. Can't you just let them do what they want for once?" Pikachu whispered. "No offense, but you're pretty helpless in this condition." His statement slightly angered Shinji, but Shinji knew Pikachu was right. "You know, at this rate, one of them has to train your Pokémon."

Shinji's eyes widened at that. "What?!" he whispered harshly. "There is no way I'm going to let any of them train my Pokémon!"

Pikachu sighed. "You are really lucky I can't lose my temper here…"

Shinji ignored him and continued to watch the battle. Soon, it was over and Satoshi and Hikari's Pokémon had outdone themselves with excellent results!

Infernape made a beeline for Shinji. "Ne, Shinx, has Shinji ever mentioned anything about me?" he asked shyly. He was rather excited when it came to topics related to Shinji, but he was just shy today.

Shinji smirked. "Yeah, he mentioned some Pokémon named Infernape who beat him in the Sinnoh League."

"Oh, that's me! He actually mentioned that?!"

"Yeah." Shinji rolled his eyes, still smirking.

"Wow…" Infernape genuinely smiled. "Hey, when you meet Shinji again, tell him that I said, 'Thanks for everything,' will you?"

"Hn." Shinji stirred. "Whatever."

"You know, you really act just like Shinji." Infernape thought for a moment. "No way!"

Shinji was alarmed. "What?"

"Are you mocking him?!"

Shinji's brow twitched. "No." Pikachu suddenly appeared with Piplup. "What do you two want now?"

"Can you come with us for a second?" Pikachu asked. Piplup and Pikachu head to the direction where the river was. "We need to talk to you immediately, and your Torterra is coming with us too."

"What is there to talk about right now?"

"Again, it's your attitude, Shinji!" Piplup exclaimed. "You just don't know when to stop that arrogant behavior, don't you?!"

"Arrogant? Look who's talking…" Shinji murmured.

"What did you say?!" Piplup was about to tackle Shinji, but Pikachu held him still. "Let me go, Pikachu!"

"Stop, Piplup! Calm down!" Pikachu pulled her flipper to prevent any fighting. "Let me talk to him!" As soon as Piplup submitted into silence, he exhaled. "Shinji, to put Piplup's previous comment in a softer way, you can't keep that arrogance around us any longer."

"I'm trying to put on a low profile," Shinji growled. "But for some reason, you guys are really annoying me."

"Shinji," Torterra called out. "Can you at least try to have some fun today? Everyone else from our group already got used to Satoshi, Hikari, and Takeshi's presence as if they don't mind them."

"They did?" Shinji asked in disbelief. He groaned, and then sighed. "This is what I get for becoming a Shinx, huh…?"

"And I thought you and Satoshi parted in good terms, too…"Pikachu suddenly had an idea. "Ne, Shinji, I have a deal for you… And this deal is the only thing that might be able to help you out."

"Sorry, the fact that I'm stuck in a Shinx's body was extremely angering me."Shinji arched his head to Pikachu, interested. "So what's the deal?"

"If you can reduce that arrogance and ignorance by at least half and work with us, Piplup and I will prevent anyone from revealing your identity," he elaborated. He held out his tail, smiling. "Is it a deal?"

"Hmph, fine." Shinji felt embarrassed to do this, but it felt like the only way to touch that tail of Pikachu's. His tail stretched out to touch the tip. Then, the deal was made. "So what do you want me to do from now on?" Shinji looked up at Torterra, who was blinking at him in surprise. "Well, I'm still refusing to believe I transformed into a Pokémon, but what can I do now?" He shook his head. "If I'm going to be stuck like this for a long time, I might as well give up and give in until then." Half of it was true. He refused to give up searching for a cure, but for now, he has to give in.

"Wow, Shinji…" Torterra whispered. "That's a really big change of heart…"

"I know. I hate the feeling." Shinji gritted his teeth, trying to suppress the string of curses trying to escape his lips.

"Pikachu! Piplup!" Satoshi called out. "Where are you guys? Hey, where are Shinji's Torterra and Shinx?" The sound of bushes rustling was heard and they found Satoshi staring at them. "There you guys are! Come on! We're about to go to a lake!" He wiped his cheek, where a drop of sweat rolled down. "We're gonna go swimming! You and your friends can join us too, of course."

By 'you and your friends', he must've been referring to Torterra and Shinji.

~.~.~

Just like Satoshi said, the group headed for a small lake nearby. To add, there was a small waterfall too! Almost every Pokémon jumped in immediately, trying to cool them off. Infernape, Cyndaquil, and Sudowoodo stayed away since water would weaken them. Of course, there were some others like Pachirisu who wanted to cool off under the shades of the trees.

Some of Shinji's Pokémon decided to join the others.

Shinji merely watched everyone from under a tree. The shade was cool enough for him. When he heard a squeal, his eyes jerked to an oncoming body. "WHAT THE…?!" Before he could react, he was nearly crushed by the impact of the body. Shinji felt himself use Discharge after he realized how much pain he was in. For a moment, the body was lifted, and he scampered away.

"Ow…" a female voice murmured.

Shinji wheeled around to see Hikari, electrocuted. "Oi! You are REALLY heavy!" But then again, it was reasonable… He was a small Pokémon after all.

As if Hikari understood him, she apologized. "Sorry, Shinx! I tripped, and I didn't see you there!" She got up, and found her hair in a mess. "Oh no! Not my hair again!" She rushed to a tree, where Satoshi, Takeshi, and her backpacks were lying around. She got out her brush and started combing her hair frantically. Shinji noticed that Hikari was wearing a different outfit, which he guessed as her swimsuit.

"Where's Satoshi and Takeshi?" he wondered. As if on cue, Satoshi called out from the top of the waterfall. Takeshi was with him. "You must be kidding me… He's planning to jump from there?"

"Hey, Hikari!" Satoshi called. "Wanna jump in with us?"

Hikari flinched. "Uh… It's okay, Satoshi! You just jump ahead and I'll be playing with the other Pokémon!"

"You sure, Hikari?" Takeshi asked. "This might be your only chance of a lifetime to jump a waterfall!"

From that, she hesitated, starting to have second thoughts. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, although it would be her first time. "Uh… I'll try?"

"Great! Come on up here!" Satoshi invited.

"Okay, hold on a minute!" Hikari crawled to Shinji. "Ne, Shinx, can you jump with me?"

"Huh?" Shinji raised a brow. "Why would I jump with you? For all I know, you could squeeze me to death from fright."

"Please, Shinx? Please, please, please?"

Shinji shook his head, but Hikari grabbed him anyways. "Hey, let me go! I didn't say 'yes', Troublesome Girl!" Unfortunately, he couldn't use Discharge, because if he did, Hikari would fall to her death. She was already climbing the rocks. I have no choice, do I…? he thought.

"Hikari, you made it!"

"Yeah, well, I'm taking Takeshi's advice," Hikari murmured. She carried Shinji in her arms. "Don't worry, Shinx. I promise I won't squeeze you." After Takeshi jumped, Hikari braced herself by looking down. "Wow, it's really high…" She felt her knees slightly shake. "Ready, Shinx?"

Shinji shrugged.

"Here we go!" Hikari jumped. She shrieked, nearly deafening Shinji, but she didn't squeeze him to death. They landed in the water with a loud splash. Hikari tried to swim up as fast as possible, so Shinx would be able to breathe. "How was it, Shinx?"

Once again, Shinji shrugged. He was wet everywhere, but it was refreshing against the sun's heat. Once they got out of the water, Shinji leapt for land. "Thank goodness, that's over…"

"Hey, Shinx!" Buneary called out. "Wanna join us?" She pointed to a beach ball.

Shinji stared. "No thanks." He stood under the same tree, enjoying the cool shade.

"Oh come on, Shinx!" Pikachu insisted. "You know you can't stay under there all day." He ran over to Shinji. "C'mon, Shinji, be a sport! At least play one match with us."

"I'm not really interested in volleyball right now."

"You sure? This might be your last chance of playing together…" Pikachu murmured. "Everyone is going to part ways by tomorrow, Shinji. The least you could do is having fun before parting."

Shinji lifted his head. "So today's your last day together with those two and their Pokémon?"

"Well… Today is the last FULL day we have together. Tomorrow, we only have the morning to be together." A sad smile appeared on Pikachu's expression. "It's going to be sad to part ways, but I'm sure we're going to meet again someday." His paws slapped his cheeks together. "No, I shouldn't be feeling down today. I should be having fun! Just like what you should do too, Shinji."

"Why?"

"You might never see any of us again." Pikachu stopped Shinji from saying anything else afterwards. "Hold on… Shinji, do you think you can stay up long enough until everyone else is asleep? But I want you to keep your distance away from them."

Shinji raised a brow.

"If there's a possibility that Xatu's ability might wear off tonight, you might become human, and it might shock everyone else."

"Okay, but what if it doesn't wear off?"

"Look, Shinji, just like my previous question… I want you to stay up until everyone else is asleep because you and I have to discuss something once they are asleep."

"Fine…" Suddenly, a beach ball was thrown at his face! "What the hell was that for?!"

"Um… Motivation?" Pikachu laughed. "Come on, Shinji…" He waved the beach ball in front of Shinji's eyes. "You know you want to…"

Strangely, Shinji wanted to hit that ball back at Pikachu. "One match, got it?" He joined in the group to play.

~.~.~

Finally, dusk had fallen and Takeshi had cooked dinner for everyone – literally – even for the Pokémon! It was a special treat today: Delicious cold noodles for the Pokémon and the three Pokémon trainers.

"Wow, Takeshi. I sure am gonna miss your cooking," Satoshi commented, laughing. But slowly, his laughter died. His remark caused the atmosphere to tense.

"We're all going to part ways, aren't we…?" Hikari murmured.

"Yeah, well, we enjoyed this whole day together, didn't we?" Takeshi reminded. "It was a great time with you two." He leaned on a nearby log. "So what are you planning to do when we part?"

"Obviously, I'm gonna go to the next region!" Satoshi declared.

"Well, I'm going to go back to my home region to take care of my family," Takeshi explained.

Satoshi glanced at Hikari. "What about you, Hikari?"

"Uh… Well…" she looked down. "I don't really know yet." She sighed. "I just never thought about it, you know?" Hikari gave out a weak laugh. "… with the parting thoughts and all."

"Yeah, it'll be a sad parting, but hey, it was a fun journey with you guys."

"Let's make a promise, then!" Satoshi exclaimed.

"A promise?"

"A promise of crossing paths once again!" Satoshi held out his pinky finger. The other two held onto each other's and promised each other that they will cross paths again someday.

Takeshi yawned. "Well, it's getting late. We should sleep now."

"Okay." With that, everyone went into their sleeping bags, falling asleep immediately. It was fun being with each other, but tomorrow is when they will part ways… in Twinleaf Town, Hikari's hometown.

An hour had passed, and Pikachu lifted his head. He slyly walked around to check if everyone was asleep. They were. He walked to Shinji, who was watching his PokéBalls. "Shinji, let's go. I found a spot near the river where we can talk privately."

"Okay." Shinji followed Pikachu to an area where the moon was clearly visible. "So what do you need to talk to me about?"

"Well, it seems it's already the next day… and you haven't transformed back to your normal self yet…"

"So?"

"So… When Satoshi, Hikari-chan, and Takeshi-san part, who are you going to go with?" Pikachu tilted his head. "You could go with Satoshi, because he's going to the next region like you, although you were planning to go to the Battle Frontier. But Hikari-chan's hometown is in the same region as your hometown, so she can take you home. Takeshi-san is going to his home region, but I'm not sure if you went there already."

Shinji blinked. He hasn't thought about that yet. "Who do you think I should go with?"

"Well… Takeshi-san might be a last-minute option. Satoshi or Hikari-chan would be your main choices." Pikachu stared at Shinji, who seemed to be thinking deeply. "I'll give you some time. But you have to tell me before they wake up, okay?"

"Hn." Shinji sat on his… hind legs, looking at the clear water. If I go with Satoshi, I'll be able to go to the next region, but if I didn't change back yet, then, he might train me and my Pokémon to enthusiastic death. If I go with Troublesome, I might figure something out with aniki or with her. But then again, if I go with her, there are many chances that I'll have to watch her contest things… or whatever, he thought.

This was troubling him. If he went with either one of them, there would be some negative results. If it was Takeshi, then he'd have to deal with Takeshi's Pokémon and another trip around a region he competed in. (Not to mention that Takeshi's Gureggru was incredibly clever.) Who should he go with?

After half an hour of thinking, he came to a conclusion.

"Oi, Pikachu."

"Yeah?"

"I know who I'm going to go with."

~.~.~

A/N: It's a cliffhanger. xD I'm sorry, but I had to do it. :3 Anyways, I guarantee that this fanfic will have quick updates. So wait until then! I REALLY thank you for reading this far! It's about 2,000 more words than the first chapter, but I'm glad that you had enough patience to read it. ^^